Just finished, pretty highly satisfying. I agree that not having a cliffhanger ending was pretty boss. Cliffhangers are stupid and cheap.

I've read a ton of sci-fi and fantasy, and I suspect I will read all these books before the next season. Most of the themes here are very common and even overused:

A. The bond between twins, even seemingly disparate twins, has been done well several times. As has the role of the less-favored brother.
B. The return of the age of dragons or other mythical beasts that no one thought were real anymore.
C. Perhaps the most compelling story in all of literature, the rightful heir in exile.

Although this stuff isn't new, Martin has obviously done a fantastic job of creating deeply human and interesting characters. And HBO has done a great job as well. I felt the first few episodes were great but I kinda kept waiting for "OK let's kick some undead ass," but the political drama was much more interesting.

Agree that magic and dragons and mysticism coming to the forefront might ruin the show. "Battlestar Galactica," which IMO was at times the greatest television ever created (along with probably the best group of female characters) really went off the rails when it tried to introduce mystical b.s.